When I help owner/managers build a culture of 'predictable success,' one of the most important final steps after working with their management teams, is to ensure that the same 'predictably successful' experience is extended to their customers and clients - after all, if your customer doesn't have a consistent, predictable experience with you, nothing else can rescue your business (just ask anyone in the auto industry). Here are the three most important steps in delivering predictable success to your customers and clients, plus a bonus for those of you who sell to consumers:

1. Rediscover what your customers want
It may seem a 'duh' question, but how sure are you that you know exactly what your customer wants?

Most owner/managers I know rankle at this question, because one of the reasons they start their own business is precisely because of their knowledge of the market. What I have found, however, is that over time your 'closeness to the customer' can turn from a significant competitive advantage into a dangerous blind spot. I know - I've been there!

It works like this: I start my business, knowing intimately what my customer wants. Because I know what s/he wants so well, and deliver it the way s/he wants it and my business thrives and grows. The growth of my business confirms to me that I really know my customer well. As the business grows, I talk to my customer less (because I have a bigger business to run, and because I don't think I need to - because I know my customer so well...).

The net result? Two to three years later, you don't know your customer's needs so well, but you still have a belief that you do - but like a 'ghost memory' of a severed limb, it isn't really there.